Young Koreans Sow Seeds of Friendship

Photo and written by Tran Quoc Bao – Gift-In-Kind Officer A group of Korean students flew into Vietnam at the end of July to experience the very different and far less privileged lives of poor children living in the mountainous district of Yen Thuy in the northern province of Hoa Binh. The twenty primary and secondary school students were taking part in South Korea’s “Global Citizenship” education programme with the aim of developing their understanding of health issues affecting local children and mothers and nutritional concerns, as well as offering them the chance to make suggestions to help the people living in Yen Thuy district. The Korean youngsters had the opportunity to visit two local kindergartens that have received assistance from World Vision to improve their sanitary and water supply facilities. Despite the rain, the group members helped dig the soil, sow seeds and plant vegetables in the specially designed nutrition gardens at the preschools. After leaving the kindergartens, the students went to see some of the activities held by a local nutrition club. They were also able to meet with one of the senior local leaders and a number of health station workers, all of whom found some of the Koreans’ questions concerning child nutrition and maternal health difficult to answer. The Korean students also joined some of their Vietnamese contemporaries to discuss what could be done to ensure the children of Yen Thuy enjoy good health. Although they did not speak the same language, the two groups were open and friendly with each other and sang and danced together. “I’ve learned a lot about the local students’ difficulties on this trip,” commented one Korean student, “and when I'm back in Korea, I’ll ask my friends to try and help the young people here.” Under the “Global Citizenship” programme, every year 20 to 60 Koreans visit World Vision’s activities in Yen Thuy district, Ngo Quyen district in Hai Phong, Thuong Xuan district in Thanh Hoa, and Huong Hoa district in Quang Tri. Since its inception, 600 students, sponsors and donors have visited these districts to experience another side of life. The programme is a joint initiative between World Vision and a group of Korean schools with the goals of educating students and developing their senses of solidarity and responsibility towards themselves, their families and their communities. The programme also aims to raise funds for small projects, such as constructing classrooms, libraries, kindergartens and clean water systems.